“Batman vs. Superman” Goes For Record Debut on Friday

Two legendary superheroes wage a slam-bang battle in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but the biggest beating administered in its debut Friday was to the critics. Zack Snyder‘s PG-13-rated action epic zoomed to a record $82 million in its first day of release at the U.S. box office for Warner Bros. That put “Batman v Superman,” which stars Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill, on pace to deliver a record-breaking $170 million over the three days for Warner Bros. and defy searing reviews, while successfully launching the linchpin film in the studio’s ambitious five-year, 10-movie strategy built around the DC Comics superheroes. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” was the only movie opening wide against “Dawn of Justice” and took in $7.2 million Friday, which puts Nia Vardalos‘ romantic comedy on pace for a strong $19 million opening for Universal. “Zootopia,” which came in as the No. 1 movie last week, took in $9.5 million and is headed for a $23 million second-place finish in its third weekend for Disney.